Not Worth It
by Anthony E. Stark
Summary: The Winchester brothers are in a car accident and Dean wakes up to find he's in a hospital and there's an angel named Castiel who has an offer for him. AU, major character death, angst, one-shot.


**Not Worth It**

"Oh no, not this song again!" Sam groaned as he put his head in his hands.

"What? It's a good song!"

"It _was_ a good song until you played it non-stop for almost an hour!"

"Yeah, because it's a good song!" Dean tapped the beat on the top of the steering wheel and started humming loudly to piss off Sam even more; mainly out of spite because he knew that the song was starting to get repetitive now but he didn't want to prove his younger brother right, "Lighten up, Sammy."

The younger Winchester poured and reached for the radio, "Any song but this will do. I think I'm gonna go mad."

"Hey, no!" Dean lunged for the radio too in a desperate attempt to guard it from having any buttons pressed, "Driver picks music!"

The battle over the radio became very intense very quickly and both brothers soon became focused only on beating the other. Sam was gaining the upper hand but then Dean took his eyes off the road to stop him from progressing any nearer towards the button and the war started up again. He thought that it would be okay to take his attention off driving for a few seconds – he barely payed attention during conversations in the car anyway, this would be no different.

Sam was trying his hardest to hold back a laughing fit and went to clear his throat when something caught his eye, something speeding towards the car. "Dean! TREE!"

Dean's reflexes made him quickly grab the wheel and try to swerve away from the oncoming tree but it was all in vain when the Impala crumpled into the trunk and the Winchesters were thrown forward.

~x~

_Where am I?_

The artificial light filtered through his eyelids although he couldn't muster up the energy to actually open them. A steady bleep was coming from nearby and it took him far longer than he'd normally need to realise it was a heart beat monitor found in hospitals and that there was somebody talking nearby about something he couldn't quite make out. Although he knew making assumptions was wrong because they were usually incorrect, he assumed he was in a hospital.

_Why am I here?_

Dean focused on the beep of what he assumed was his own heartbeat and thought back to what he could remember before he woke up; he and Sam were driving along arguing over music and then he ends up alone, listening to a steady beeping and unable to move.

_Where's Sam?_

The voice moved closer and Dean was able to hear bits of what he was saying.

"... lucky..."

The hunter expected it to be Sam – his brother was normally pacing around whenever he woke up in a hospital bed, unable to keep still – but it was a man's voice that he didn't recognise.

"... it would take a miracle from God to save him..."

Dean had so many questions that needed answers but he lost conciousness before he could try and get the man's attention.

~x~

When he awoke again, he had no idea whether days, months or mere minutes had passed but he was able to open his eyes and look up at the light above where he lay. He tried moving his fingers and then his neck and was pleasantly surprised when he found he could do both, although he wasn't sure he'd be able to move any more of his body for a while.

Dean couldn't move his head much but was able to see an empty chair to his right, the ceiling, and some machinery on the other side of the bed. After attempting – and failing – to read a sticker on the nearest machine, he carefully turned his head back the other way and got a shock when a man was silently sitting in the chair, staring intently at the hunter; he was good-looking with scruffy black hair that made him look like he'd just got out of bed and was wearing a tan trench coat over a black suit.

"Hi?" Dean had never seen the man before in his life and assumed that he wasn't one of the medical staff.

"Hello, Dean," his voice was much lower than the man Dean had heard earlier and his intense glare continued, "I suppose I should introduce myself; I am an angel of the Lord."

"Do you have a name?"

"Castiel."

He wanted to ask more about the angel – he hunted demons for a living, angels were supposed to be the good guys and probably knew important information that he didn't – but he didn't have the energy to say more than simple sentences, "Why are you here?"

Castiel's gaze wavered and he started looking at a random patch of duvet instead, "You are on the verge of death, Dean, and God has deemed you worthy of being allowed to live your full life span. I am here to heal your wounds, you'll be out of here by tomorrow morning."

"Why is he being nice to _me_?" The offer seemed too good to be true and he guessed there was going to be a catch.

"You're a good man. It would be a shame to lose somebody like yourself off of Earth." The angel looked Dean in the eye again but this time it was less intense, "I need your permission before I can do anything so will you allow me to heal you?"

"Where's Sam?" His question seemed to catch Castiel off guard and made his eyesight flicker back to the duvet.

The angel drew in a long breath and Dean could see sympathy in his blue eyes, "Sam died."

The news shocked him and he seemed unable to move any of his body again. Castiel put a hand on his arm in what he assumed was an attempt to calm him, "It's not your fault, Dean, it's mine. If I had gotten here faster I may of been able to heal your brother too but it was too late and he was already gone. I'm sorry."

"No." He could feel a tear trickling down his cheek and it didn't help his mood one bit.

"No?"

"No, it wasn't your fault..." Dean drew a deep breath and could feel his energy going quick, "And, no, you can't heal me."

"But you can't just refuse an offer like this from God himself!" The angel obviously didn't expect him to refuse the offer and didn't know what to do.

"It's not worth it."

"But-"

"No!" His refusal came out a bit too loud and he looked over apologetically to Castiel, his lungs giving up on him.

"I'm so sorry, Dean Winchester."

The angel's apology was the last thing he heard before he died. No bright light, no life flashing before his eyes, just pure nothingness.

_**Disclaimer:** I still own no fictional characters, shame..._

_A/N: First Supernatural fic and first angsty fic! I'm sorry for everything._

_- Tony_


End file.
